SSA's troubled Flying Cloud ferry is sold

The Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority today announced the sale of the much maligned Flying Cloud fast ferry to a South American company for $3.9 million.

Patrick Cassidy

The Woods Hole, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket Steamship Authority today announced the sale of the much maligned Flying Cloud fast ferry to a South American company for $3.9 million.

The Steamship Authority bought the Flying Cloud in 2000 for $8 million to ply the waters between Hyannis and Nantucket. The ferry experienced engine problems almost immediately after launch and trouble persistently plagued its operation for the next six years.

The Steamship Authority installed new engines in the faulty ferry for $1 million in 2006 and it ran smoothly during its last year of operation between Cape Cod and Nantucket. But it was put up for sale later that year for $5 million and replaced by the $9.7 million 154-foot long Iyanough last year.

After there was no response during an initial bidding period, Steamship Authority officials listed the Flying Cloud with international brokers and advertised its sale in marine industry publications.Gran Cacique II, a ferry service in Venezuela, bought the ship for about $100,000 less than its current fair market value of $4 million, Steamship Authority general manager Wayne Lamson said today.

But the price was about $25,000 more than its depreciated value, he said.

“It’s kind of a coincidence that those numbers are so much similar,” he said.

The ferry was loaded onto another ship for the trip to Venezuela on Saturday and should arrive there sometime next week, Lamson said.Proceeds from the sale will go into a special fund for capital improvements and replacements, he said.

Lamson said he was relieved that the sale had gone through, adding that it was a “good and fair deal” for both parties. “For the past two years it’s been something we’ve been constantly working at and talking to over 100 interested buyers.”